57 - Punu Mask. Gabon, mid-20th century.

Punu Mask. Gabon, mid-20th century. Carved and polychrome wood. Measurements: 32 x 20 x 17 cm. Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. The masks of the Punu people, native to southern Gabon, are among the most elegant and iconic expressions of traditional African art. Characterized by the harmony of their proportions, the delicacy of their features, and the serenity of their expressions, these pieces represent an idealized conception of human beauty, particularly feminine beauty. Their oval faces, usually coated with white kaolin, feature almond-shaped, half-closed eyes, arched eyebrows, and finely defined lips, while the elaborate sculptural hairstyles and geometric scarifications lend them extraordinary ornamental refinement. Linked to ancestor worship and the Okuyi ritual ceremonies, these masks played an important spiritual and social role. Their refined artistic language, based on the simplification of forms and compositional balance, also sparked the interest of the European artistic avant-garde in the early 20th century, making them particularly prized pieces among collectors of African art.